20 

 The Brown Tail Moth 



The Brown-tail Moth was probatiily introduced at Somerville in Mass- 

 achusetts in 1890 in shipments of roses from Europe where it has long 

 been a serious pest. It did not attract attention till 1897 when action 

 was taken to control it along with the Gipsy Moth. In spite of the ef- 

 forts however it has spread intp Maine and New Hampshire, New Bruns- 

 "wick and Nova Scotia, and is even more injurious and abundant in Mass- 

 achusetts than the Gipsy Moth itself. On account of the fact that both the 

 female and the male moths are good fliers its spread has been rapid. 



Observations showed that while the Brown-tail Moth is attached by 

 certain native parasites and predaceoius insects the percentage of parasit- 

 ism and destruction is extremely small. It became necessary, as m the 

 case of the Gipsy Moth, to import those parasites that keep the Brown- 

 tail in check in Europe. 



THE CONTROL OF PARASITES. 



It is rather remarkable that no effective parasite of the egg of the 

 Brown-tail Moth has been imported, but there are four important im- 

 ported parasites of hibernating caterpillars. 



(i) Pteromalus egregius, a chalcid. The females enter the 



nest in the fall and deposit tiieir eggs on the dormant caterpillars. The 

 larvae feed externally. It is now generally distributed over very extend- 

 ed territory and apparently well established. 



Pteromalusegregius, adult female and a parasite of the Brown-tail moth, much enlarged. 

 (Bull 91, U.S. But. Ent.) 



(2) Apanteles lacteicolor, a braconid, attacks the small cater- 

 pillars in the fall before they enter their winter nest. In the spring the 

 parasite larva issues and spins a white cocoon within the molting 

 web. It is now^ generally distributed over a considerable area. 



